Impact of EU bionergy policies on developing countries

The aim of this briefing is to assess the impacts on developing countries of the EU’s rising demand for biomass for bioenergy production with a particular focus on woody biomass such as wood chips, logs, firewood, wood pellets and mill residues.

In particular, the briefing assesses: the impacts on the access of rural communities to land and water; the extent to which the interest in biomass could undermine the efforts of developing countries to meet their own food needs (food security); the impacts on the access to renewable sources for energy consumption (local energy security); the impacts that a growing demand for woody biomass by the EU could have on rural communities in developing countries, in particular in terms of environmental impacts and land degradation.